Police on the case of missing 20th Century Fox film executive Gavin Smith are now saying he was likely murdered Sheriff’s department spokesman Steve Whitmore said today that Smith’s black Mercedes 420E was found February 21 in a Simi Valley, CA storage locker. “Evidence in there and from other sources has led investigators in the case to preliminarily reclassify this as a homicide. While no body has been found, they believe it was a murder,” Whitmore told me.

Police have said that John Creech is the person of interest in the case; he is currently in custody on unrelated drug charges. The Simi Valley storage unit is linked to Creech, and he and his wife’s West Hills, CA house has already been searched twice by police in relation to the case. Smith is said to have met Creech’s wife in therapy.

Smith has not been seen since the night of May 1, 2012, when he was leaving the Oak Park, CA home of a friend in his Mercedes. The family of the 57-year-old distribution exec and former UCLA basketball player has offered a $20,000 reward for information about his whereabouts.